By PAT CALL

Vashon’s rowing club was invited to three races at the Windermere Cup regatta at the University of Washington last weekend.

The first 1,300 meters of the 2,000-meter course proceed down a canyon whose walls are comprised of moored yachts. After a brief section, rowers enter the fabled Montlake Cut and are greeted by the cheers of more than 10,000 spectators crammed into both sides of the narrow waterway for the last 500-meter sprint to the finish line.

The exclusivity of the invitation-only event was obvious in the early morning, when boat trailers that are usually sagging under the weight of 15 to 20 shells instead sported only two or three shells each. Vashon competed in the mixed masters’ quad and the junior men’s and women’s coxed quads.

It was a silver medal day for Vashon with all three boats taking second place. The junior teams had their first calibration against the elite Seattle Rowing Center (SRC) with the women (Mia Croonquist, Riley Lynch, Kalie Heffernan, Kirsten Girard and cox Callie Andrews) coming in a close second, and the men (Patrick Hanson, Jacob Plihal, Fletcher Call, Baxter Call and cox Olivia Mackie) more significantly back from an SRC boat that could be a contender for the national title in June.

The mixed masters’ boat (Mark Ripley, Chad Magnuson, Mary Rothermel, Kim Goforth and cox Ally Clevenger) was edged out by perennial powerhouse Sammamish Rowing Association.

“It is an achievement to just get into the Windermere Cup races, and I am proud of all three boats for their silver medal performances,” coach Richard Parr said. “Our juniors will now turn their full attention to preparing for the Northwest Junior Regional Championships two weekends from now. Our team is making good progress but still needs to find a few more seconds in each race.”